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Schist vs Limestone


Limestone vs Schist


Definition

Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation  
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate  

History
  
  

Origin
-  
New Zealand  

Discoverer
Unknown  
Belsazar Hacquet  

Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split  
From lime and stone in late 14th Century  

Class
Metamorphic Rocks  
Sedimentary Rocks  

Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock  
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock  

Family
  
  

Group
-  
-  

Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock  
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock  

Texture

Texture
Foliated, Platy  
Clastic or Non-Clastic  

Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver  
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Cream, Gold, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light Grey, Linen, Pink, Red, Rust, Silver, White, Yellow  

Maintenance
Less  
More  

Durability
Durable  
Durable  

Water Resistant
Yes  
No  

Scratch Resistant
No  
Yes  

Stain Resistant
No  
Yes  

Wind Resistant
No  
No  

Acid Resistant
No  
No  

Appearance
Layered and Shiny  
Rough and Banded  

Uses

Architecture
  
  

Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration  
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration  

Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone  
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings  

Other Architectural Uses
-  
Curbing  

Industry
  
  

Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone  
Cement Manufacture, Cobblestones, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium  

Medical Industry
-  
In Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry, Medicines and Cosmetics  

Antiquity Uses
Artifacts  
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines  

Other Uses
  
  

Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates  
Animal feed filler, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Paper Industry, Raw material for manufacture of quicklime, slaked lime, Soil Conditioner, Used in aquariums, Whiting material in toothpaste, paint and paper  

Types

Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.  
Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa  

Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch  
Host Rock for Lead, Stalactites and stalagmites are formed from this rock, Zinc and Copper Deposits  

Archaeological Significance
  
  

Monuments
-  
-  

Famous Monuments
-  
Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Big Ben in London, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, India, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Empire State Building in New York, Khajuraho Temples, India, Kremlin in Moscow, Louvre in Paris, France, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Potala Palace in Lahasa, Tibet, Wailing Wall in Jerusalem  

Sculpture
-  
-  

Famous Sculptures
-  
Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, India  

Pictographs
-  
-  

Petroglyphs
-  
-  

Figurines
-  
-  

Fossils
Absent  
Present  

Formation

Formation
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.  
Limestone is a sedimentary rock which is mainly made up of calcium carbonate.  

Composition
  
  

Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc  
Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt  

Compound Content
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO  
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, MgO  

Transformation
  
  

Metamorphism
No  
No  

Types of Metamorphism
-  
-  

Weathering
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  

Erosion
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion  
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion  

Properties

Physical Properties
  
  

Hardness
3.5-4  
3-4  

Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained  
Fine Grained  

Fracture
Conchoidal  
Splintery  

Streak
White  
White  

Porosity
Highly Porous  
Less Porous  

Luster
Shiny  
Dull to Pearly  

Compressive Strength
150.00 N/mm2  
22
115.00 N/mm2  
27

Cleavage
Slaty  
-  

Toughness
1.5  
1  

Specific Gravity
2.5-2.9  
2.3-2.7  

Transparency
Opaque  
Opaque  

Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm3  
2.3-2.7 g/cm3  

Thermal Properties
  
  

Specific Heat Capacity
0.70 kJ/Kg K  
24
0.91 kJ/Kg K  
11

Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant  
Pressure Resistant  

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents
  
  

Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam  
Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam  

Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa  
Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe  

Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland  
United Kingdom  

Others
-  
-  

Deposits in Western Continents
  
  

North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA  
USA  

South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana  
Colombia  

Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  

Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland  
Adelaide, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Yorke Peninsula  

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Schist vs Limestone Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Schist and Limestone Reserves. Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Schist vs Limestone information and Schist vs Limestone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Schist vs Limestone Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Schist vs Limestone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Schist and Properties of Limestone. Learn more about Schist vs Limestone in the next section. The interior uses of Schist include Decorative aggregates, Floor tiles and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Limestone include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Schist and Limestone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Schist in construction industry include As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Roadstone and that of Limestone include Cement manufacture, Cobblestones, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium.

More about Schist and Limestone

Here you can know more about Schist and Limestone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Schist and Limestone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Schist includes Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc and mineral content of Limestone includes Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Schist vs Limestone, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Schist is available in black, blue, brown, dark brown, green, grey, silver colors whereas, Limestone is available in beige, black, blue, brown, cream, gold, green, grey, light green, light grey, linen, pink, red, rust, silver, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Schist is Layered and Shiny and that of Limestone is Rough and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Schist vs Limestone. The hardness of Schist is 3.5-4 and that of Limestone is 3-4. The types of Schist are Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist. whereas types of Limestone are Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Schist and Limestone is white. The specific heat capacity of Schist is 0.70 kJ/Kg K and that of Limestone is 0.91 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Schist is impact resistant, pressure resistant, water resistant whereas Limestone is pressure resistant.

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